Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 35.0057, -78.4016

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (88th percentile) and lowest in fall (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 92nd, summer 75th, fall 10th)
  • North Carolina: 86th percentile (spring 70th, summer 88th, fall 29th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 92nd percentile (spring 86th, summer 94th, fall 47th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North Carolina, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jun 30 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 685 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 331 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 151 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021-2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.